Camera film imaging device

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for printing an image upon a film negative in a camera is disclosed. The apparatus includes a series of tapes which carry figures to be recorded on the film by a portion of the light which enters the camera through the lens at the time a picture is taken and passes through the tapes to impinge upon the film. Either the tapes or the figures carried by the tapes can be transparent. The tapes are superimposed one upon the other in proximity to the film exposure area with spaces on the tapes to allow one or more figures carried by each of the tapes to be recorded simultaneously on the film.

United States Patent [191 Gordon 11] 3,733,985 [451 May 22, 1973 [54]CAMERA FILM IMAGING DEVICE Primary Examiner-John M. HoranAttorney-Frederick l... Bergert [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for printing animage upon a film negative in a camera is disclosed. The apparatusincludes a series of tapes which carry figures to be recorded on thefilm by a portion of the light which enters the camera through the lensat the time a picture is taken and passes through the tapes to impingeupon the film. Either the tapes or the figures carried by the tapes canbe transparent. The tapes are superimposed one upon the other inproximity to the film exposure area with spaces on the tapes to allowone or more figures carried by each of the tapes to be recordedsimultaneously on the film.

8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENIEW 3'. 733.985

SHEET 1 [1F 2 BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The presentinvention relates to photographic apparatus. More particularly, thepresent invention relates to apparatus to be installed in connectionwith a camera to provide a means of recording on the film the date onwhich the photograph was taken or other informatron.

In the taking of pictures with photographic cameras, it is oftendesirable to record on the film the date on which the picture was takenor a title or caption for the photograph in order to remind thephotographer of the setting or circumstances in which the picture wastaken. Previous apparatus for the recording of information on the filmnegative within a camera has included, for example, a second chamberlocated within the camera with a second aperture to admit light and thusallow a group of numerals carried by a series of aligned ribbons to beexposed upon the film threaded across the back of the camera. Otherprior art apparatus has ineluded separate tape systems for each item ofinformation, such as the month or the year, to be printed upon the filmwith the tape systems located within the film exposure area.

By the present invention, there is provided photographic apparatus forrecording the date or other useful information upon the film negative ina camera. The apparatus of the present invention employs a portion ofthe light which passes into the camera through the lens at the time apicture is taken to record an image on the camera film. The presentapparatus includes a series of continuous tapes each of which contains agroup of items of information such as a listing of the months, days oryears. With regard to each tape, one or the other of the tape or thefigures thereon is transparent while the other is opaque to the passageof light. The tapes are wound on a plurality of disks which are mountedfor independent rotation upon the exterior of the camera and which,together with a set of guide members, provide a means of positioning thetapes within the camera in proximity to the film negative located at theback of the camera. A portion of the light entering the camera throughthe lens passes through the tapes and transfers images which appear onthe tapes to the film negative. The tapes are superimposed one upon theother in proximity to the film in the film exposure area and spaces areprovided on the tapes to allow information contained on all tapes to beprojected simultaneously onto the negative. Processing of the filmnegative by conventional methods results in a permanent record on thefinished photograph of the selected information carried on the tapes.The apparatus may be easily operated by a series of levers located onthe exterior of the camera. Referring to the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a bottom elevational view of apparatus constructed accordingto the principles of the present invention, showing the continuous tapesand rotatable disks in position on the bottom of the camera;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 1with the addition of a cover extending below the camera to protect theapparatus of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing thetapes containing the figures to be projected onto the film; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are partial bottom views of modifications of the subjectapparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the illustrated embodimentof the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1 through 3, apparatus 10 isprovided for recording information on photographs taken with a camera30. The camera 30 shown is a conventional snap-shot camera having aspool 22 for supplying film 20 to the film exposure area 13 and atake-up spool 23 at the opposite end of the camera 30. Conventionalpartitions 14 are provided to close off the picturetaking area withinthe camera 30. The picture-taking area is defined at the forward portionof the camera 30 by a lens 17 and at the rear portion by the filmnegative 20 which abuts the back of the camera 30 in a position forexposure as light enters through the lens 17 when a picture is taken.

The apparatus 10 of the invention as depicted in the drawing is for thepurpose of printing the date on the camera film 20 and includes two setsof concentric disks 1 I mounted on the exterior of the camera 30 withthree independently rotatable disks 11 in each set. The disks 11 aresituated in proximity to the film exposure area 13 with one set of disks11 being positioned on either side of and exterior to the exposure area13. A series of three endless transparent tapes 12 are wound upon theconcentric disks 11 with each of three tapes 12 being wound onto a disk1 l in one of the sets of concentric disks and the corresponding disk 11in the other set of concentric disks. The concentric disks 11 are formedof any durable material suitable for providing a base upon which thetapes 12 may be wound and may, for example, be of metal constructionwith a rubber facing to hold the tapes securely and prevent them fromslipping as the tapes 12 are wound on the disks 1]. The disks 11 aresecured to the base 31 of the camera 30 by suitable means such as steelpins 16 inserted through the base 31. The tapes 12 may be of anylightweight, transparent material which is easily wound on the disks 11and which is suitable for carrying the opaque numbers or other figuresto be recorded on'the camera film 20. Examples of such a material wouldbe a transparent, celluloid-type material similar to that employed inthe film negative or a plastic film material such as, for example, thatsold under the trademark Mylar. It may be desirable to employ an opaquetape, rather than one which is transparent, and, in this case, thefigures to be recorded should be transparent in order to allow the imageof the figures to be projected upon the film 20.

From the concentric disks 11 the tapes 12 are threaded around turnguides 18 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The tapes 12 then pass through thecover of the camera 30 into the camera interior where the tapes 12 arethen threaded around main guides 19. In the embodiment of the presentinvention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a single main guide 19 is providedon either side of the film exposure area 13. Alternatively, a separatemain guide 19 may be employed on either side of the film exposure area13 for each of the tapes 12. At the junction of the tapes 12 with themain guides 19 on either side of the film exposure area 13 the tapes 12become superimposed one upon the other and pass into the film exposurearea 13 in proximity to and along the lower edge of the film negative20. The part 27 of the camera cover which is adjacent to the tapes 12 asthe tapes 12 pass through the cover may be lined with a suitablematerial in order to maintain the lighttight characteristics of thecover. The turn guides 18 are preferably positioned so that the tapes 12are twisted in a one-half twist with respect to their longitudinal axesas the tapes 12 pass between the turn guides 18 and the main guides 19.Such a twist may be imparted by having the turn guides 18 positioned soas to lean toward the concentric disks 11 on the exterior of the camera30 and the main guides positioned so as to lean outwardly from the filmexposure area 13 as shown in FIG. 2. This twisting action facilitatesthe smooth indexing of the separate tapes 12 into proper position inproximity to the film negative 20 to be exposed. Both the turn guides 18and main guides 19 may be in the form of metal or plastic pins and bothsets of guides are secured at their lower portions to the base 31 of thecamera 30. Notches or projections 33 may be formed into the guides 18and 19 to prevent slippage of the tapes 12 relative to the guides andalso to aid in the alignment of the tapes 12 around the guides as wellas to assist in the placement of the tapes in their superimposedposition between the main guides 18 in proximity to the film 20.

Between the main guides 18 where the tapes 12 are in proximity to thefilm 20, the tapes should extend along the lower edge of that part ofthe film to be exposed and should preferably be positioned as close tothe film as possible in order to insure legibility and preventdistortion in transferring the date onto the film 20. Additional guides24 may be provided in the film exposure area to maintain thesuperimposed tapes 12 in proximity to the film negative 20. Due to theinversion of the negative, the information contained on the tapes 12will appear at the top of the developed photograph. If desired the tapes12 may be positioned at the upper portion of the film exposure area 13so that the figures on the tapes will be recorded at the bottom of thefilm 20. Also the apparatus may be installed entirely within the camera30 with the concentric disks 11 mounted on the inner bottom of thecamera 30, for example, and control means extending through the cover ofthe camera 30 to the exterior for control by the camera operator. Thewidth of the concentric disks and the length of the guides will dependgenerally upon the width of the tapes 12 employed. The concentric disk11 having the largest diameter will ordinarily be employed to carry thetape 12 having imprinted thereon the days of the month, due to thegreater number of individual numerals to be imprinted and thecorresponding requirement for a relatively longer tape.

As previously mentioned, the tapes 12 are superimposed one upon theother within the body of the camera 30 in the area between the mainguides 19 where the tapes 12 are in proximity to the camera film 20. Inorder to allow the desired figures on each tape 12 to be projected uponthe film 20 by a portion of the light which enters the camera when theshutter is opened to take a picture, spaces are provided between theseparate figures on each tape 12 to allow the figures from the othertapes '12 to be projected onto the film 20. Thus, for example, in thecase of the tape 12 containing the months of the year, there should besufficient space allowed on the tape between the individual months sothat the day of the month and also the year may be registered intoposition for recording on the film 20 when the film is exposed. The tapecontaining the days of the month should have the numbers representingthe various days of the month spaced sufficiently to allow the name ofan individual month to be projected through onto the film negative 20from the superimposed tape 12 containing the list of months. By allowingsuch a space between the numbers representing the various days of themonth, this will provide sufficient space to allow a number representingthe year also to be projected through from the superimposed tape 12containing the list of years as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. As to the tape12 on which appear numbers representing the various years, sufficientspace should be allowed between each year for the month and also the dayof the month to be projected through from the other superimposed tapes12 onto the film negative 20. Thus there may be recorded on the film 20a date which includes the month, the day of the month and the year. Theorder in which the various components of the date appear on the film 20may, of course, be varied as desired, but any variation from the orderdescribed should take into account the spacing required on the varioustapes 12 in order to allow information on all tapes 12 to be projectedsimultaneously onto the film negative 20.

The concentric disks may be controlled by any conventional apparatuswhich will allow the operator of the camera 30 to advance the tapes 12to the desired positions. Such control apparatus may include, forexample, a series of levers 15, as shown in FIG. 1, with a separatelever 15 attached to the center portion of each disk 11 in one of thesets of disks and employing means such as a rachet and pawl connectionto advance the tapes 12. Such a connection may include a ratchet wheel25 attached to the lower surface of each of the disks 11 in theconcentric set. A lever 15 with an attached pawl 26 engages each ratchetwheel 25 so that the reciprocating motion by the lever 15 will rotatethe ratchet wheel 25 which rotates the disk 11 to which it is attached,thus advancing the tape 12 which is wound on the disk 11.

In order to insure that the tapes 12 remain in synchronization as thedisks 11 are rotated, a cylindical or drum member 28 may be employed toexert pressure against the tape 12 as a disk 11 is rotated. As shown inFIG. 4, the drum member 28 and the pawl 26 are both attached to a plate29 which in turn is secured by welding or other suitable means to thelever 15. Reciprocating movement by the lever 15 rotates the ratchetwheel 25 while the drum member 28 exerts pressure on the tape 12 andbiases it in the direction in which the tape 12 is to be advanced. Theplate 29 and the drum member 28 may be of metal or similar durablematerial with the drum member 28 being covered with rubber or othersuitable material which will allow the drum member 28 to adhere tightlyto the tape 12.

As an additional means of insuring positive contact of the tapes 12 withthe disks 11 and to prevent slippage of the tapes 12 as the disks 11 arerotated, the tapes 12 can be provided with notches along one edgesimilar to the notches used in movie film. Spurs can be provided on theperiphery of the disks 11 to engage the notches in that portion of atape 12 in contact with the disk 11. These notches would be locatedalong the extreme bottom edge of the tapes 12 in order not to transferan image of the notch onto the film.

In order to provide the camera operator with an indication of theparticular date which is indexed in the film exposure area 13 forprojection upon the film negative 20, a portion of each of the tapes 12may be utilized for a set of figures which is a duplicate of thosepreviously described, the duplicate figures being observable on theexterior of the camera 30. Such an arrangement would result in thatportion of each tape 12 near the film exposure area 13 hearing figuresfor recording on the film and the portion of each tape 12 near the frontof the camera bearing figures for providing a visual indication to thecamera operator. Thus, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, a cover 32 maybe provided for the concentric disks 11 and tape 12 arrangement beneaththe camera 30 with the cover being attached to the base 31 of the camera30. A window 34 may be cut into the front side of the cover 32 similarto the windows employed in conventional snap-shot cameras to indicatethe number of exposures which have been used on the roll of film. Thefront portion (not shown) of each of the tapes 12 would thus be visibleto the camera operator. The duplicate figures to appear in the windowshould be correlated with the figures to be indexed in the film exposurearea 13 so that by observing the figures which appear in the window, theoperator may advance the tapes 12 to a position for recording thedesired date on the film 20.

An alternative means of providing an indication to the camera operatorof the date indexed for projection upon the film is shown in FIG. 5, inwhich the bottom of each disk 11 in one of the sets of disks isinscribed with the various numbers or letters of a component of thedate. A stationary indicator 35 having windows through which the indexeddate is visible is mounted on the set of disks in a position to be flushwith the cover (not shown) for the apparatus. The diameter of the disks11 may be varied as necessary in order to correlate the date whichappears at the indicator 35 with the date which is indexed forprojection upon the film. Also, magnification means may be employed asnecessary in the windows of the indicator 35.

From the foregoing description, it is apparent that the subjectapparatus may be employed to provide a record on film of variousinfonnation such as the date, a caption or title or any otherinformation which it is desired to record in connection with aparticular photograph. The apparatus of the present inventionparticularly lends itself to use in a situation where it is desired todisplay a continuous legend on the film, as in the case of a date or atitle consisting of several words. Additional concentric disks may beadded as necessary depending on the number of figures which it isdesired to imprint on the photograph. Although the present apparatus isshown employed in a simple snap-shot type camera, it may be employed inany camera where light is projected from the lens to the film as apicture is taken and thus, for example, the apparatus may beadvantageously installed in 35 mm. cameras, in Polaroidtype cameras andalso in movie cameras.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the formshereinbefore described being merely preferred embodiments thereof.

It is claimed:

1. In a camera having an interior picture-taking area defined by a lensat the forward portion and a film negative located at the rear portionfor exposure by light entering through the lens when a picture is taken,the combination comprising:

a. a plurality of figure-bearing endless tapes movably secured to thecamera on two sets of rotatable disks, the disks in each set beingconcentrically mounted on the exterior of the camera, one set of thedisks being mounted on the base of the camera on each side of thepicture-taking area with each tape being mounted on a separate disk ineach set of disks, each of the tapes having the property that one or theother of the tape or the figures thereon is transparent while the otheris opaque to the passage of light, and each tape having a portionthereof located in proximity to the film negative in a super-imposedcondition with respect to the other tapes so that a portion of the lightpassing through the lens on its way to the film negative when a pictureis taken will be intercepted by an opaque portion of each of the tapes,the figures on each tape having a spaced relationship with respect toeach other with the spacing being of a size such that one or morefigures on each of the tapes can be projected simultaneously onto thefilm negative by the light which enters the camera through the lens, and

b. means for individually adjusting the tapes in order to position thedesired figures appearing on the tapes in proximity to the filmnegative.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the tapes are twisted in a k twistwith respect to their longitudinal axes on either side of the area inwhich the tapes are superimposed in proximity to the film negative.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each tape is wound around a pair ofguides between each set of concentric disks and the picture-taking area,one of the guides in each pair of guides being located on the exteriorof the camera and the other guide in each pair of guides being locatedon the interior of the camera, both guides in each pair being mounted onthe base of the camera.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the means for individually adjustingthe tapes includes a series of levers attached to one of the sets ofconcentric disks, a separate lever being provided for each disk in theset and each lever being in engagement with its respective disk by meansof a ratchet and pawl combination.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 further including means connected to eachlever to bias the respective tape in the direction in which the tape isto be advanced.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further including indicating means toprovide an indication to the camera operator of the figures on each tapewhich are indexed for projection onto the film negative.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the indicating means includes asecond set of figures on each tape, said second set of figures beingcorrelated with the figures to be projected upon the film negative sothat when a figure in the second set of figures is visible to the cameraoperator, a corresponding figure is indexed for projection upon the filmnegative.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the indicating means includes asecond set of figures on the outer surface of one of the sets ofconcentric disks, said second set of figures being correlated with thefigures to be projected upon the film negative so that when a figure inthe second set of figures is visible to the camera operator, acorresponding figure is indexed for projection upon the film negative.

1. In a camera having an interior picture-taking area defined by a lensat the forward portion and a film negative located at the rear portionfor exposure by light entering through the lens when a picture is taken,the combination comprising: a. a plurality of figure-bearing endlesstapes movably secured to the camera on two sets of rotatable disks, thedisks in each set being concentrically mounted on the exterior of thecamera, one set of the disks being mounted on the base of the camera oneach side of the picture-taking area with each tape being mounted on aseparate disk in each set of disks, each of the tapes having theproperty that one or the other of the tape or the figures thereon istransparent while the other is opaque to the passage of light, and eachtape having a portion thereof located in proximity to the film negativein a super-imposed condition with respect to the other tapes so that aportion of the light passing through the lens on its way to the filmnegative when a picture is taken will be intercepted by an opaqueportion of each of the tapes, the figures on each tape having a spacedrelationship with respect to each other with the spacing being of a sizesuch that one or more figures on each of the tapes can be projectedsimultaneously onto the film negative by the light which enters thecamera through the lens, and b. means for individually adjusting thetapes in order to position the desired figures appearing on the tapes inproximity to the film negative.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thetapes are twisted in a 1/2 twist with respect to their longitudinal axeson either side of the area in which the tapes are superimposed inproximity to the film negative.
 3. The apparatus of claiM 1 wherein eachtape is wound around a pair of guides between each set of concentricdisks and the picture-taking area, one of the guides in each pair ofguides being located on the exterior of the camera and the other guidein each pair of guides being located on the interior of the camera, bothguides in each pair being mounted on the base of the camera.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 3 wherein the means for individually adjusting thetapes includes a series of levers attached to one of the sets ofconcentric disks, a separate lever being provided for each disk in theset and each lever being in engagement with its respective disk by meansof a ratchet and pawl combination.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 furtherincluding means connected to each lever to bias the respective tape inthe direction in which the tape is to be advanced.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 4 further including indicating means to provide an indication tothe camera operator of the figures on each tape which are indexed forprojection onto the film negative.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 whereinthe indicating means includes a second set of figures on each tape, saidsecond set of figures being correlated with the figures to be projectedupon the film negative so that when a figure in the second set offigures is visible to the camera operator, a corresponding figure isindexed for projection upon the film negative.
 8. The apparatus of claim6 wherein the indicating means includes a second set of figures on theouter surface of one of the sets of concentric disks, said second set offigures being correlated with the figures to be projected upon the filmnegative so that when a figure in the second set of figures is visibleto the camera operator, a corresponding figure is indexed for projectionupon the film negative.